Ian O'Riordan finds Mayo's veteran calm and confident prior to Sunday's big test

Anyone who thinks a fourth All-Ireland defeat - and three of them to Kerry - would be thoroughly unbearable should listen to James Nallen. His philosophy on football could be applied to any walk of life. You live, you learn, you get on with it.

At the age of 32 Nallen brings a natural maturity to the Mayo team. He's been their regular centre back since 1995 and Sunday marks his fourth senior All-Ireland final. Unfortunately for him he's lost the previous three - in 1996 (to Meath, after a replay) and 1997 (to Kerry) and again to Kerry two years ago.

They say players like Nallen deserve to win an All-Ireland, it would complete his career, and it would haunt him for the rest of his life if he failed at the fourth attempt. That, he says, is not the meaning of football - not to mention life.

"Sure, to win this would complete my career, something I started 11 years ago. And it would be a disappointment not to win one, having had four opportunities. It's not that anyone deserves one.

"You would just wonder that having done it four times you didn't get it right at least once. If I wasn't disappointed you'd have to wonder what it's all about. But I do believe we will get it right. The way I see it I'm in a fabulous position right now. We've worked and trained hard, and we've great faith in each other. This game is there to be won, and there's no reason why we don't have the same chance as Kerry."

The danger with any pre-All-Ireland conversation is that something will be lost in translation. Players carefully script what they hope and believe will happen, but is it really what they want to say? At times you feel some of the truer words are left unspoken. That hasn't been happening with this Mayo team.

Their raw honesty, their even spread of confidence and determination, their impressive attitude, is nicely condensed in conversation with Nallen. Win or lose though he likes to keep things in perspective. He has his career outside of football - in the physics department of NUI Galway - and some people forget defeat can teach you as much about life as victory.

"Defeat is something to rebound from. Not something to put you down for the rest of your career, or the rest of your life. Football is a pastime, a sideline. It's the priority of course while you are playing it, but there is life after football too. And for me, and for this Mayo team, of course Sunday is our opportunity to stake our claim in history. And we'll do whatever we can on the day to make that happen. We expect it will be good enough, but if it's not, another bunch of players next year or the year after will go at it again.

"So you just can't dwell on defeat. You hear a lot of talk about teams or players never recovering from defeats. But you get your chance. If your fail to take it, you just have to ask yourself why, work on those things, if you want to get back into that position again.

"Football though, I wouldn't call it a hobby, but everyone has something they like to do in their spare time . . . I'm at an age when work and relationships have become more important, and it's issues with that would dictate my life a lot more."

Defeat in the 2004 final looked to have ended Nallen's hopes of ever completing his career the way he would wish (the same with David Brady, Kevin O'Neill, maybe even David Heaney) - and yet he didn't let that get him down either.

"Maybe, of all the finals I've been in, 1996 was the best opportunity. But it doesn't haunt me, none of them haunt me. I will say it's one we probably should have won, but you get on with it. And what you always find is that the first year with a new management is sometimes your best year. 1996 was the first with John Maughan. There's something about the freshness of the first time.

"And we have that again. This year has been very interesting, in that the new management did come in with a fresher approach. This year we've already proven we're able to win tight matches, and that's definitely going to be needed against Kerry. And we have plenty of players on this team that have won at under-21 and club level. There's no doubt teams that know how to win are harder to beat."

"I know a lot of players would be delighted to get to an All-Ireland. I've experienced all that. At this stage of my career it's all about winning an All-Ireland title, and doing what I can on that day to bring that about."

James Nallen

Club - Crossmolina.

Age - 32.

Position - Centre back.

Honours - All-Ireland club title 2001; Connacht SFC 1996, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2006; National League 2001; FBD Connacht League 2001, 2003; All Star 1996, 2004.